What does the average college student’s wardrobe consist of? Most people probably think of hoodies, sweatpants and tennis shoes, or guys on game day wearing white dress shirts with striped ties featuring their school colors. That’s true to some extent but fashions differ from campus to campus and many people use their college years as a time for self-expression.

Though sweats and tees are comfortable and convenient, college students are increasingly ditching these options in order to reflect current styles. The reason? Since most students have smartphones or tablets and can access the web from anywhere, they can see something they like, buy it online instantly and instruct that it’s shipped directly to their door...all while walking down the hallway or across campus between classes.

So what about you? Do you go to class in your pajamas or plan out your outfits for the entire week? What fashions are currently trending on your campus and what will be the next big thing?

This summer, Kara Coleman graduated from Gadsden State Community College with an Associate of Arts degree. She is currently studying communications with concentration in print journalism at Jacksonville State University Kara's writing has been featured in Teen Ink magazine and she is a children's author through Big Dif Books.

As I type this blog entry, I have less than two months of college left before I get my bachelor’s degree...and I am on an emotional rollercoaster.

When I first found out that I would be able to graduate a semester early, I was overcome with joy and during the summer, I could not wait to begin the fall semester and kept having visions of walking across the stage and smiling proudly as I realized all of my hard work had paid off. Although my excitement grows more and more each day, so does my stress level. Graduation is a wonderful time because family and friends gather to watch you close one chapter of your life and hear your plans of starting a new one. I am elated to know that everyone I care about will soon get to see how hard I have been working in school when they see all of the honors I’ve earned but since that day isn’t here just yet, there’s still much work to be done.

Behind all the stress, however, I know one thing is certain: I will make it through and when I do, the smile on my face will be even bigger and wider than it was at my high school graduation because of everything I’ve accomplished. Soon-to-be graduates, what are you looking forward to the most?

Jessica Seals is currently a senior at the University of Memphis majoring in political science and minoring in English. At the University of Memphis, she is the secretary of the Pre-Law Society, the philanthropy chair of the Phi Kappa Phi Student Council and a member of Professional Assertive United Sisters of Excellence (PAUSE), Golden Key Honor Society, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, Sigma Alpha Lambda Honor Society, and Black Scholars Unlimited. She also volunteers to tutor her fellow classmates and hopes to attend law school in the near future.

When you are preparing to graduate high school and are excited that you’ll be attending college in the fall, no one really tells you that there are going to be aspects of college life that you are going to absolutely hate, like classes: Sometimes you are going to really enjoy the classes you are taking, most of the time you are going to be indifferent about the classes you have and occasionally you are going to absolutely loathe a class you are taking. I currently find myself in this predicament and am here to share some advice on how to handle these types of classes.

Talk to the professor. Send him or her an email with your concerns or go talk to them during their office hours; most of the time, they will take your concerns into consideration – particularly if these concerns are echoed by other students. This approach is most effective if you can have a two-way conversation without sounding like you are complaining.

Grin and bear it. The class isn’t going to last forever; sometimes the best thing you can do is get your work done while reminding yourself you just need to make it to the end of the semester.

If you really can’t imagine attending the class all semester, you can always drop it or withdraw and try to take it with another professor next semester. You can also talk to your adviser about your other options: If the class is a gen ed, there may be similar but more enjoyable class that would fill the same requirement.

Jacquelene Bennett is a senior at the University of Redlands where her areas of study are creative writing, government and religious studies. When she is not studying or working, you can usually find her eating frozen yogurt or blogging about her day. She has a cactus named Kat and believes that Stephen Colbert is a genius. Jacquelene works hard, laughs hard and knows that one day you’ll see her name in lights.

Despite my best intentions, I get easily distracted. If I really want to focus on something, I try to isolate myself as much as possible. This is the reason why I don’t bring my laptop to class because I’d end up using that time to write papers, go on Facebook or check my email. I consider myself an excellent multitasker but I know for a fact that once I have my laptop in front of me, I’ll start trying to tackle my to-do list instead of paying attention to what my professors have to say. If the person sitting in front of me has a laptop and I see them watching a video or playing a game, I get so mesmerized that I stop paying attention!

As I see it, using electronics in the classroom should be a personal decision, not one a professor mandates in their syllabus. Some people genuinely function better with their laptops in tow while others (like me) might not be able to handle the sensory overload. Part of being a responsible college student is making those decisions for yourself – what’s your choice?

Angela Andaloro is a junior at Pace University’s New York City campus, where she is double majoring in communication studies and English. Like most things in New York City, her life and college experience is far from typical – she commutes to school from her home in Flushing and took nearly a semester’s worth of classes online – but she still likes to hang out with friends, go to parties and feed her social networking addiction like your “average” college student.

In addition to being a Scholarships.com virtual intern, Michigan Tech student Kayla Herrera is a media coordinator for the Michigan Tech Youth Programs and is a writer for The Daily News in Iron Mountain, Mich., Examiner.com and WHOA Magazine. She love a tantalizing, action-packed video game and can't get enough of horror movies (Stephen King's books always have her in their grip, though she prefers the old over the new). Writing is what she has always done, and that is what she is here to do.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and many college students are planning to head home to celebrate. It’s no easy feat, either: With the cost of travel and the chaos attached to traveling during one of the busiest weeks of the year, it’s not always possible for students to get home for the break. That doesn’t mean that Thanksgiving has to go out the window; in fact, there are tons of alternatives to traditional Thanksgiving for college students staying on campus.

Volunteer your time. While not being able to be with your family might be upsetting, there are many others who have it worse. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to volunteer at a soup kitchen or shelter. Doing so can really strengthen your gratitude and teach you to show your appreciation for what you do have.

Skype with your family. It might not be the same as being there in the flesh but you can still partake in your family’s holiday thanks to technology. It could very well be your Thanksgiving tradition for four years!

Whatever you decide to do for Thanksgiving, make sure you stop and give thanks for all the great things in your life. And remember, Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are just a few short weeks away! Have you ever spent your Thanksgiving on campus? How did you celebrate? Let us know in the comments.

Angela Andaloro is a junior at Pace University’s New York City campus, where she is double majoring in communication studies and English. Like most things in New York City, her life and college experience is far from typical – she commutes to school from her home in Flushing and took nearly a semester’s worth of classes online – but she still likes to hang out with friends, go to parties and feed her social networking addiction like your “average” college student.

Not all college students are able to celebrate Thanksgiving with their families. If this sounds like you, don’t worry: You can still get into the holiday spirit in your dorm. Many of you are probably wondering how to pull off a Thanksgiving feast when you don’t have a kitchen and/or cooking skills but here’s a little guide to help you:

You can find ready-made mashed potatoes in the refrigerated section of your grocery store or buy raw potatoes and cook them in the microwave (some even have a button for this). For gravy, buy a powdered packet and add the requirement of heated water. Voilà!

If you don’t want canned cranberry sauce, heat fresh cranberries in the microwave until the juices are released. Add sugar to taste and mix while slightly mashing them with a spoon.

Candied yams would be difficult to make from scratch in a dorm so buy canned pre-cut and peeled ones. Heat the yams in the microwave with butter then add some cinnamon and sugar (granulated white and brown). When the sugar melts, you’re done!

Boxed stuffing can taste just as good as the homemade kind. Get the Stove Top brand – all you need to do is mix it with hot water.

For the bird, most grocery stores have cooked rotisserie turkey and chicken. You can add your own seasoning or eat it as is.

Radha Jhatakia is a communications major at San Jose State University. She's a transfer student who had some ups and downs in school and many obstacles to face; these challenges – plus support from family, friends and cat – have only made Radha stronger and have given her the experience to help others with the same issues. In her spare time, she enjoys writing, reading, cooking, sewing and designing. A social butterfly, Radha hopes to work in public relations and marketing upon graduation.

Few things are worse than sitting in a boring class with a professor droning on and on. The good news is that unless you are in a lecture hall with hundreds of other college students, you can almost always change a dull lecture into an informative and exciting class discussion.

How do you do this? First and foremost, be sure you've done the homework and assigned reading. If you are prepared, you can properly discuss topics covered in your assignments that are interesting to you but include information your professor might overlook. Some professors may not like that you are interrupting their planned lectures but others will welcome a fresh opinion that supplements the course material and engages a less-than-captive audience.

Next – and really this applies to any discussion you have in life – you have to ask questions. Again, you have to have done the homework in order to ask the right questions but asking questions WILL start a discussion. I am taking a class that I absolutely hate but I’ve discovered that it’s tolerable if I ask a lot of questions. It forces the professor to expand on certain topics and allows your classmates to think about the subject or reading in a way that they wouldn’t have on their own. The key is to not ask your question directly to your professor but to frame it in a way that allows anyone in class to answer.

Don’t want to jump right in during the lecture? Approach your professor before class, tell them that you found a certain aspect of the homework interesting and would like to get the whole class’s view or interpretation of it. Rarely will a professor say no so go for it!

Jacquelene Bennett is a senior at the University of Redlands where her areas of study are creative writing, government and religious studies. When she is not studying or working, you can usually find her eating frozen yogurt or blogging about her day. She has a cactus named Kat and believes that Stephen Colbert is a genius. Jacquelene works hard, laughs hard and knows that one day you’ll see her name in lights.

Waking up at 2 a.m. to stand outside in the freezing cold waiting for a store to open is a holiday tradition for some people. On the other hand, there are thousands of others who refuse to give up sleep to stand in a long line for an item that will sell out before they even get inside the store. That’s right: I’m talking about Black Friday and for those of you who are on tight budgets – aka almost all college students! – it may seem like this day is your only chance to get holiday presents at affordable prices...but it’s not.

After experiencing the fights over the most-sought after items every year on Black Friday, I decided to stop giving in to this “holiday” in favor of participating in Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving). Retailers have noticed that the number of online purchases is steadily increasing; therefore, they put some of the same sale prices that can be found in stores online. This is great for college students because they can spend the day after Thanksgiving with their families instead of arguing with strangers. Win-win!

I have become a Cyber Monday proponent because I prefer to do all of my shopping from the comforts of my own home – far away from angry shoppers who try to snatch items from my cart while I am not looking. As store lines continue to grow longer and the televisions and game systems sell out even faster, Cyber Monday is becoming a more attractive option. I can almost hear sighs of relief from college students everywhere who are trying to juggle countless end-of-semester commitments!

Jessica Seals is currently a senior at the University of Memphis majoring in political science and minoring in English. At the University of Memphis, she is the secretary of the Pre-Law Society, the philanthropy chair of the Phi Kappa Phi Student Council and a member of Professional Assertive United Sisters of Excellence (PAUSE), Golden Key Honor Society, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, Sigma Alpha Lambda Honor Society, and Black Scholars Unlimited. She also volunteers to tutor her fellow classmates and hopes to attend law school in the near future.

Stretching. It’s always good to begin your workout by stretching. Lock your fingers together, inhale and raise your arms as high as they will go. Release and exhale as you lower your arms. Bend down and stretch to touch your toes then return to standing. Bending at the waist this time, lean over towards your right side, then your left.

Strengthening/Toning.Sit-ups work your back and abs. Push-ups work your arms. Try tabletops: Lay on the floor as if you were preparing to do push-ups, but rather than palm the floor, support yourself with your forearms. Push up, then hold yourself in that position as long as you can. Slowly lower yourself to the floor, lay on your back and begin bicycle pedaling in the air. Raise your legs straight up, stretch for your toes and hold that that position as long as you can.

Cool down. Sit up with your legs extended straight in front of you and stretch forward to touch your toes. Repeat any or all of the stretches you did at the beginning of your workout.

This summer, Kara Coleman graduated from Gadsden State Community College with an Associate of Arts degree. She is currently studying communications with concentration in print journalism at Jacksonville State University Kara's writing has been featured in Teen Ink magazine and she is a children's author through Big Dif Books.